During the Spring 2018 Term of NASA’s DEVELOP National Program, participants used geospatial data and technologies to investigate, analyze, and monitor several issues around the world. Some of the topics explored throughout the term included invasive species, pollution, crop diversity, extreme weather, changing ecologies, wildfires, disease, water resources, archaeological preservation, and urbanization. Each project completed by a DEVELOP team is conducted in partnership with agencies or organizations local to the study area. Fundamental to the analytical and geospatial component of each of these projects is NASA Earth science remote sensing data. Two of these projects used data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua platforms and distributed by the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC). 

All projects conducted in the Spring term, as well as in past terms, can be found in the DEVELOP archive.

Featured Project: Modeling Mosquito Distribution in Europe

Mosquitos spread deadly vector-born illnesses to millions of people worldwide. The reach of these diseases is increasing as mosquitos are spreading via the numerous modes of travel throughout Europe. The NASA DEVELOP project, An Interactive Model of Mosquito Presence and Distribution to Assist Vector-Borne Disease Management in Western Europe, used NASA Earth observation data, combined with the Global Mosquito Alert Consortium’s citizen science data, to create an open source mosquito habitat suitability map with Google Earth Engine.

Instruments and Techniques Used

The DEVELOP team used geospatial data from the Terra satellite’s MODIS sensor, including Daily and Monthly Land Surface Temperature (LST) data (MOD11A1 and MOD11C3), Daily Surface Reflectance data (MOD09GA), Monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data (MOD13C2), and Combined Terra Aqua MODIS Yearly Land Cover data (MCD12Q1 Version 5). They combined these data with other mosquito habitat-influencing data, which can be used to predict where mosquitos might exist, including elevation, humidity, precipitation, soil moisture, population density, and travel routes. Finally, the team examined data provided from GLOBE Observer, a citizen science mobile app that allows users to report occurrences of mosquito habitat, presence, and larvae.

Major Findings

The team incorporated these data into their interactive mosquito habitat suitability map. This map allows users to visualize where mosquitos are likely to exist and what environmental factors are present in the area.

The habitat suitability map created from this project will be available to the general public and can be used by researchers and public health officials to improve prediction models to help monitor and mitigate mosquito-borne diseases in Western Europe.

About the NASA DEVELOP National Program

The DEVELOP National Program is part of NASA’s Applied Sciences Program. Participants from around the country join the DEVELOP program for 10-week terms to apply data acquired by NASA Earth-observing satellites to bridge the gap between science and society. DEVELOP participants work with non-profit, local, state, and federal partners to create maps and other products in eight focus areas, including Agriculture & Food Security, Disasters, Ecological Forecasting, Energy, Health and Air Quality, Urban Development, Water Resources, and Transportation & Infrastructure.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Publication References

Western Europe Health & Air Quality II, NASA DEVELOP National Program, 2018, Mobile mosquito, accessed July 27, 2018.

Mancini, G., Heslin, J., Lenske, V, Lubkin, S and Silva, L., 2018, Western Europe Health & Air Quality II: An Interactive Model of Mosquito Presence and Distribution to Assist Vector-Borne Disease Management in Western Europe, accessed July 27, 2018.